If you happen to be in Florida this holiday season you don’t want to miss this awesome tradition. The light tours run until the first part of February, so you still have time. We were in Orlando over Thanksgiving week and took a day trip to St. Augustine (it’s a 2 hour drive from Orlando). I will warn you though if you plan to go next year that same week be prepared for crowds! We went the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday), and the streets were packed full of tourists. We were so grateful someone suggested that we get in line an hour early. We also had Fast Pass tickets (I highly suggest this). I know that sounds crazy, but the line behind us had literally hundreds of people in it. Whew!
OK, so what is the Night of Lights Tour? St. Augustine, Florida is a super cool historic coastal city. In fact, it is America’s oldest city. And they take decorating with lights to a whole new dimension. The businesses have a competition to see whose decorations are the best (viewers vote online), so they spare no expense. Some of these places make the Griswold’s house look dull (If you have never seen “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” 1989 you have no idea what I’m talking about, and I’m showing my age). The town says the tradition was inspired by an ancient holiday practice brought there by the Spanish of displaying lit candles on window sills. To experience the glow of the season and see the more than 3 million lights adorning every corner of the city’s historic district, you take a ride on the Old Town Trolley’s Nights of Lights Tour! I call it the Christmas Trolley. While waiting in line an elf hands you your “ticket,” which is really a pair of “magic” 3-D glasses. When you put the glasses on the lights take on a whole new character. It is so cool! For example, there were small round bulbs strung around the tree trunks, but with the glasses on they looked like bright star bursts! And the mood on the trolley is very fun and festive. Christmas songs are playing the whole time, and some people sing. Everyone is in a good mood, and the people we passed all waved and cheered us on. We had great weather, but it can get chilly so you will want to bring a coat or jacket.
Tours depart from the Visitor Information Center, 10 West Castillo Drive, and each tour takes about 30 minutes with continuous departures every 10-15 minutes from 6pm to 9pm. This season the tours are held nightly from November 24, 2019 – February 2, 2020, but it may be different next year. When the tour ends you are served homemade sugar cookies and hot apple cider! It was super fun. St. Augustine was voted “One of the Top Ten Places to See Holiday Lights” by National Geographic Traveler. Hopefully you can add this to your must-see list this holiday season or plan a trip for next year!
For a review of the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine see my blog post here. It is a definite must-see!
